UNC-FSU: Postgame Interviews

Greg Barnes

03/02/2011

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Inside Carolina's postgame coverage includes audio from head coach Roy Williams, Harrison Barnes, John Henson and Dexter Strickland, who spoke to the media following UNC's victory over Florida State on Wednesday.

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ROY WILLIAMS (8:05)

Opening comments:
"Well, the game of basketball is really crazy, because we were in great position to have the game in our control and we made about three of the dumbest plays you can possibly make and then, all of a sudden, they're in control of the game. Fortunately, we got a big shot out of Harrison there at the end. We're 3-4-5 ahead and we get the ball after they miss a shot in the corner and Kendall [Marshall], who is one of the smartest players I've ever coached, we've got four timeouts…

"Guys, I'm going to die with more timeouts in my back pocket than anybody in the history of basketball, and instead of calling a timeout, he turns it over there and they score. And then, all of a sudden, we try a pitch-ahead that is a very marginal play that you should only make in the first five minutes of the game. We turned it over and then Dexter [Strickland], with 13 seconds on the shot clock, drives in there like there's no tomorrow and then Florida State has a one-point lead. So you have to congratulate them for taking advantage of our silliness down the stretch, and yet, we have a player that jumped up and made a big-time shot.

"A lot of times we put our point guard in that position. This week in practice – this week or last week – we changed and put Harrison in that spot. What I did wrong was that Kendall hasn't played the spot over there on the wing enough and so he got too close, so Harrison didn't have any driving lane and he just pulled up and shot it over their player and it went in the basket. It's bad coaching and good playing. Good players sometimes make bad coaches look good and that's what happened down the stretch tonight on that last play.

"But I was really pleased with our guys until that last four minutes, coming in on Senior Night against a very good basketball team. I thought we did some really good things to answer their good things. To me, it was a crazy basketball game… Their big guys really worked on us inside down the stretch tonight more than I expected they would do. They shoot 48 percent and we shoot 47 percent. We did a nice job on the backboards – we were 39-28 there. We've got to play more intelligently down the stretch, because we certainly gave them some opportunities and they took great advantage of it."

HARRISON BARNES (2:02)

On the decision to pull up from outside:
"They had three guys high so I knew it was going to be a jump shot, because it would be hard to get to the rack… You can't really second-guess yourself. You have to go with the first instinct."

On his ability to shine in the clutch:
"I've always been comfortable taking the last-second shot. I'm glad Coach gave me the opportunity and I came through."

JOHN HENSON (2:30)

Did something finally click that has helped your free throw shooting?
"Yeah, something clicked. I hit a couple and then hit a couple and I was rolling. Hopefully I can keep it up. Don't jinx me. I don't want you to try to jinx me."

On Barnes's game winner:
"He did a move that he does every day. I've seen him in practice do it at least 10 or 12 times a day, and he just hit the shot. I saw it going in when he took the shot because I could see the arc. We escaped and sometimes you've got to win those."

DEXTER STRICKLAND (2:53)

On the game against Duke on Saturday:
"I think that on Saturday we're going to win. I know we're going to win on Saturday. I just have a lot of confidence in myself and in my team, also. So if everybody has the same attitude I have, then we're definitely going to win."

Two months ago, everyone thought Duke was going to walk away with the ACC title, but yet here North Carolina is with a chance to win the regular season outright. Did you have faith back then that this team could be in this position?
"Absolutely. I know my potential and our team's potential with all of the [McDonald's] All Americans on our team. We just have to play to our potential. If everybody plays to their potential, who's going to stop us? Nobody. So if we keep that mindset, like I said, there's nobody that can beat us."